Southern California Section

August 2009 Meeting Summary

On August 30, 2009, the Southern California Chapter of the ION held a meeting, hosted by NavCom in Torrance, CA. 28 people were attendance to listen to a presentation by Slobodan Nedic. A short biography and abstract of the presentation follows, and the slides used during the meeting are attached.

Capsule Biography of Slobodan Nedic:
Slobodan Nedic is an independent consultant in communications and GPS technologies. He received the BS and MS degrees in EE from Belgrade University in 1974 and 1980, respectively. During the academic year 1981/82 he was a guest researcher at the Technische Hochschule in Darmstadt, Germany. There, he was investigating delay-spread and impulse noise resistance of time- and frequency-domain differential PSK in the context of OFDM. Most of his career was spent with the Michael Pupin Institute in Belgrade working on telephone and HF voice-band modem design and production.

He has been with NEC (NEC C&C Central Research Laboratory in Kawasaki, Japan and the NEC Research Laboratory in Princeton, NJ), working on R&D of DAB, cellular and H/ADSL systems. His latest full-time job was with the SiRF Technology Systems Group in Santa Ana, CA, where he worked on dual antenna indoor GPS reception, excision-based anti-jamming, and urban canyon multipath mitigation.

He has consulted for NEC, ASTRI, Airvana and Boeing on 4G system accessing formats, MIMO VDSL system, evaluation of WiMAX technology and GPS retransmission systems, respectively.

Abstract of Mr. Nedic’s Talk: (Presentation slides)
This presentation scrutinizes the traditionally used multi-path modeling, noting its failure to capture propagation mechanisms of importance for GPS receiver operations in dynamic environments. An enhanced multipath model is proposed that directly extends the LOS signal propagation model. The crucial point is that the total delay encountered in reception of a SV transmitted code is a sum of instantaneous physical delays and accumulated code delay due to the ‘code Doppler’. The result is that in some situations the correlation peak pertaining to a multipath signal may be measured before the LOS one. This situation is qualitatively and quantitatively evaluated for a simplified scenario of an aligned array of transmitter, reflector and receiver, with the latter two in relative motion. The lessons learned from an experiment conducted to provide the experimental proof for such an effect are provided, and the model is further applied to a set of processed IF samples to explain peculiarities of some urban environment measurements. A suggestion is made of the origin of partially unexplained multipath components obtained by high resolution measurements in data collected in aviation landing measurements

July 2009 Meeting Summary

On July 30, 2009, the Southern California Chapter of the ION held a meeting, hosted by NavCom in Torrance, CA. 43 people were attendance to listen to a presentation by James Kain of GeoVantage. A short biography and abstract of the presentation follows, and the slides used during the meeting are attached.

Capsule Biography of James E. Kain
Mr. Kain has practiced the art of Kalman filtering and Navigation since the 60’s beginning at Draper Laboratory while he was at MIT, followed by five years at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, and then through 22 years at TASC (now Northrop Grumman). Since the early 90’s he has founded multiple small commercial businesses all with core technology fueled by modern estimation and aided navigation. His long experience with the Kalman filter has provided a unique insight into the applications issues of what he considers “the most important algorithmic development of the 20th century”. Over his tenure at GeoVantage since 1998, he has pursued breakthrough methods to bring affordable precision geospatial information to domestic and international markets.

Abstract of Mr. Kain’s talk(Presentation slides)
Mr. Kain will provide a two-part presentation of the work that he and others have done in developing a new mechanization of robust, high rate Kalman filter signal processing algorithms and will present their application in remote sensing. His company, GeoVantage, has pioneered remote sensing with very low cost platforms which compete in performance with very much more expensive platforms and which provide very rapid access to users in agriculture, forestry and mapping solution providers.

The quote below provides a preview of his signal processing topic:

“The Kalman filter’s generalized model-based approach to optimal estimation would appear to be ideal for accelerating the transition from the conceptual definition of an estimation problem to final algorithm implementation – bypassing the selection and testing of alternative suboptimal designs. This has not been the case for engineering disciplines such as communications and speech processing. We offer two reasons:

• Kalman filter robustness issues remain even after over 30 years of refining the details of implementation.
• Processing speed for Kalman filter solutions cannot approach the many-MHz update cycle times demanded for modern signal processing algorithms.”

Mr. Kain’s second topic addresses affordable mapping, summarized as:

Google Earth and Microsoft’s Virtual Earth have legitimized Remote Sensing “for the rest of us”. Precision spatial information has demonstrated broad consumer interest and georegistered imagery holds the key for immediate visual feedback. The merging of precision navigation and digital imagery transforms pictures into information. Extreme precision GPS, MEMS inertial technology, and the continued acceleration of digital imagery capability suggest a ubiquitous imagery-based web-delivered telepresence. Mr. Kain will discuss the current GeoVantage geospatial markets, technology directions that will change this landscape and soon-to-emerge systems that will bring the planet to your desktop.

June 2009 Meeting Summary

On June 30, 2009, the Southern California Chapter of the ION held a meeting, hosted by NavCom in Torrance, CA. The meeting included a presentation by Per Enge of Stanford University entitled “On Location at Stanford University”. A short biography and abstract of the meeting follows, and the slides used during the meeting are attached.

Capsule Biography of Dr. Per Enge
Dr. Per Enge is the Kleiner-Perkins Professor in the School of Engineering at Stanford University, where he is also the Director of the GPS Research Laboratory. The GPS laboratory pioneers satellite-based navigation systems for aviation and maritime use. Two of these systems are in widespread use today, and a third will be deployed in 2009. Per Enge has received the Kepler, Thurlow and Burka Awards from the Institute of Navigation for his work. He is also a Member of the National Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of the ION and the IEEE. He received his PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois in 1983, where he designed and analyzed an orthogonal signal set for code division multiple access communications.

Abstract of Professor Enge's talk (Presentation slides)
This talk will provide quick sketches of three location projects that are current at Stanford.

The first concerns itself with the use of GPS for aircraft navigation during the approach and landing phases of flight. It includes results on the use of receiver autonomous integrity monitoring for aircraft approach guidance, and the use of ground based augmentation for aircraft landing.

The second will focus on the combined use of laser altimetry and cold atom gravimetry for the detection of underground inhomogeneities.

The third will introduce the idea of using GPS to enable a marketplace where commuters can sell their "right to congest."

March 2009 Meeting Summary

On March 11, 2009, the Southern California Chapter of the ION held a meeting, hosted by NavCom in Torrance, CA. The meeting included a presentation from GPS Space Wing Chief Engineer Col(S) David B. Goldstein on the subject of the new GPS III Space Vehicle and Modernization. 25 people were in attendance for the meeting. A short biography and abstract of the meeting follows, and the slides used during the meeting are attached.

Capsule Biography of Col(S) David B. Goldstein
Colonel Select David B. Goldstein is well familiar with the many aspects of the GPS program and is the Chief Engineer for the Global Positioning System (GPS) Space Wing at Los Angeles AFB, CA. Prior to his appointment as Chief Engineer, David was the Commander of the 4th Space Launch Squadron, Vandenberg AFB, CA. In a previous tour of duty at LA AFB, David also served as Chief: Engineering Branch Office, NAVSTAR Global Positioning System Joint Program Office. David was commissioned as an USAF officer in 1988 with a BS in Engineering Science from the US Air Force Academy. He pursued graduate work obtaining his Masters Degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Houston and obtained a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Colorado.

He has experience in many areas, from leading large teams conducting satellite and launch systems engineering to conducting three years of graduate school research in the use of the GPS for real-time, precise satellite Orbit Determination (OD). He has taught astronautics and built small sats at the United States Air Force Academy. He is experienced in directing ballistic missile, Space Shuttle, and satellite payload integration, launch and on-orbit operations as well as managing and controlling contracts.

Abstract of Col(S) Goldstein's talk (Presentation slides)
Colonel (S) Goldstein will provide an overview of the new GPS Block III satellite series development approach as well as a description of the modernized capabilities that will become available in the future. The talk will describe the spiral development approach beginning with GPS Block IIIA, and the incremental increase in capability with each new series of GPS III Block vehicles, the Block IIIB and IIIC.

February 2009 Meeting Summary

On February 18, 2009, the Southern California Chapter of the ION held a meeting, hosted by NavCom in Torrance, CA. The meeting included a presentation from Dr. Bob Norris of John Deere on an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) named the R-Gator. 28 people were in attendance for the meeting. A short biography and abstract of the meeting follows, and the slides and video used during the meeting are attached.

Following the talk, Chuck Morton, NavCom's Manager of StarFire System Operations, provided a short guided tour of the StarFire Network Data Processing and Control Center. The StarFire Network gathers information from GPS monitoring receivers around the world and constructs differential corrections and integrity monitoring of the GPS satellite system, in real time. These corrections and health data are broadcast around the world via a network of 6 INMARSAT satellites. StarFire equipped GPS receiver routinely achieve 0.1 m or better navigation performance. The Torrance Control Center is one of two completely-redundant processing centers that have allowed the StarFire Network achieve better than 99.9% up time

Capsule Biography of Dr. William R. Norris
William R. (Bob) Norris is currently the Business Manager of a John Deere robotic product known as the "R-Gator". In this role, he is performing the functions of Business Development, Marketing, Sales, Program Management, Service and Support. He has been with the product since its inception. Bob has previously served as a researcher, systems engineer, program engineer, program manager and now business manager.

Bob received his BS, MS and PhD degrees at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, where he worked at the National Center for Supercomputer Applications (NCSA). His focus was in Control Systems, Systems Engineering and Artificial Intelligence. He recently completed his MBA at Duke University, focusing on General Management and High Tech Marketing. Bob was a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division in Operation Desert Storm.

Abstract of Dr. Norris's talk (Presentation slides)
The R-Gator (Robotic Gator) is an advanced ground vehicle system, capable of robust operations in both manned and unmanned modes. The combat proven John Deere M-Gator serves as the basic mobility platform, allowing existing logistics, maintenance, and training investments to be leveraged for reduced cost and ease of deployment. The R-Gator's capabilities include manual operation, several forms of tele-operation via joystick, map based GPS waypoint navigation and path teaching and playback.

The primary objective of the R-Gator system is to remove the user from hazardous, non-combat related missions. The ability to perform a variety of robotic utility tasks, in hostile environments and over complex terrain, reduces the users' exposure to hazards. The secondary objective of the R-Gator system is to serve as a host for payloads. Under its current configuration, the R-Gator provides payload space, 1400lb carrying capacity, a limited power supply, an ethernet and CAN interface for access to vehicle network communications.

Bob will provide an update on the R-Gator program. He will also discuss the challenges involved in the localization and navigation of a large (1400lb) unmanned ground vehicle and how Deere's solutions enable the accurate localization, navigation, obstacle detection and avoidance of the R-Gator.

On November 12, 2008, the Southern California Chapter of the ION held a meeting, hosted by NavCom in Torrance, CA.  The meeting included a presentation from Dr. Svenja Knappe of NIST entitled Chip Scale Atomic Clocks.  A short biography and abstract of the meeting follows, and the slides used during the meeting are attached.

Capsule Biography of Dr. Svenja Knappe
Svenja Knappe received her Ph.D. from the University of Bonn, Germany, in 2001, for her research on coherent population trapping for atomic clocks and magnetometers.  As part of her graduate work, she worked on cooling and trapping of single atoms.  Since 2001, she has worked at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Boulder, CO.  Her current research interest is the miniaturization of atomic sensors.  She developed the first microfabricated atomic vapor cells and laser wavelength stabilization, as well as chip-scale atomic clock physics package at NIST.  Currently, she works on the development of chip-scale atomic magnetometers.

Abstract of Svenja Knappe’s Talk (Presentation slides)
Chip-scale atomic clocks - Chip-scale atomic clocks (CSACs) have rapidly advanced since their proposal in 2001.  The combination of MEMS fabrication techniques and atomic physics has led to the development of small, low cost atomic clocks with much reduced power consumption.  Embedding these clocks in battery-operated portable devices would have many potential applications in the telecommunication and navigation sector.  After the initial demonstration of the first microfabricated alkali vapor cells and CSAC physics packages, many improvements have been made in terms of short-term frequency stability, power consumption, and size. By now, this has led to the fabrication of commercial prototypes.  Furthermore, some of the fabrication technologies developed for CSACs have been used for other chip-scale atomic sensors, such as magnetometers, wavelength references, and gyroscopes.

December 2008 Meeting Summary

On December 16, 2008, the Southern California Chapter of the ION held a meeting, hosted by NavCom in Torrance, CA.  The meeting included a two-part presentation from Dr. Chris Bartone of Ohio University covering The ION Virtual Museum and eLoran.  About 25 people were in attendance for the meeting.  A short biography and abstract of the meeting follows, and the slides used during the meeting are attached.

Capsule Biography of Dr. Chris Bartone
Dr. Chris G. Bartone, P.E. is an Associate Professor at Ohio University with over 25 years of profession experience in communications, navigation, and surveillance systems.  He received his Ph.D.EE from Ohio University in 1998, an MSEE from the Naval Postgraduate School in 1987, and BSEE from Penn State in 1983.  He previously worked for the Naval Air Warfare Center, performing RDT&E on CNS systems.  Chris received the RTCA William E. Jackson Award in 1998 for his outstanding contribution to aviation in the area of DGPS.  At Ohio University, Dr. Bartone has developed and teaches a number of GPS, radar, antennas, and wave propagation classes.  His research concentrates on all aspects of navigation.  He is a member of the ION and the IEEE.  He is very active with the ION; chaired several programs; Chair, ION Outreach Committee; and Editor, ION Virtual Navigation Museum.  Chris is a licensed professional engineer in the state of Ohio.

Part I – The ION Virtual Navigation Museum (ION Outreach Committee Slides)
Dr. Bartone is the Chair of the ION Outreach Committee, and Editor of the ION Virtual Navigation Museum (VNM).  While the ION is a non-profit professional society dedicated to the advancement of the art and science of navigation it also recognized the importance of preserving previous art and science in navigation.  The ION VNM was established in September 2006 to allows visitors to read descriptions, view photographs, and obtain detailed information on a navigation device, systems, components, and/or methods in a convenient on-line format.  The ION VNM link is: www.ion.org/museum/.   Chris will discuss the foundation of the museum, how it is organized, and administered.  He will discuss some of the interesting entries into the museum and the various collaboration efforts ongoing.  The presentation will be a combination of presentation slides on on-line illustrative. 

Part II – eLoran (eLoran Presentation Slides)
Enhanced Long Range Navigation (eLoran) leverages many of the modernization efforts that have been pursued for the traditional Loran-C.  One significant difference between eLoran and Loran-C is the addition of a data channel on the transmitted signal to convey application-specific corrections, warnings, and signal integrity information to the user’s receiver.  Other modernization efforts include going to time-of-transmission (TOT) control and the implementation of new transmitter, all-in-view receiver, and antenna equipment.  Dr. Bartone will provide an overview of the modernization and eLoran efforts as well as the Loran research efforts ongoing at Ohio University.  Chris will present details on the Loran Propagation Model development and validation for additional secondary factor predictions and measurements, Loran noise characterization, and antenna H-field characterization for Loran.

On November 12, 2008, the Southern California Chapter of the ION held a meeting, hosted by NavCom in Torrance, CA.  The meeting included a presentation from Dr. Svenja Knappe of NIST entitled Chip Scale Atomic Clocks.  A short biography and abstract of the meeting follows, and the slides used during the meeting are attached.

Capsule Biography of Dr. Svenja Knappe
Svenja Knappe received her Ph.D. from the University of Bonn, Germany, in 2001, for her research on coherent population trapping for atomic clocks and magnetometers.  As part of her graduate work, she worked on cooling and trapping of single atoms.  Since 2001, she has worked at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Boulder, CO.  Her current research interest is the miniaturization of atomic sensors.  She developed the first microfabricated atomic vapor cells and laser wavelength stabilization, as well as chip-scale atomic clock physics package at NIST.  Currently, she works on the development of chip-scale atomic magnetometers.

Abstract of Svenja Knappe’s Talk (Presentation slides)
Chip-scale atomic clocks - Chip-scale atomic clocks (CSACs) have rapidly advanced since their proposal in 2001.  The combination of MEMS fabrication techniques and atomic physics has led to the development of small, low cost atomic clocks with much reduced power consumption.  Embedding these clocks in battery-operated portable devices would have many potential applications in the telecommunication and navigation sector.  After the initial demonstration of the first microfabricated alkali vapor cells and CSAC physics packages, many improvements have been made in terms of short-term frequency stability, power consumption, and size. By now, this has led to the fabrication of commercial prototypes.  Furthermore, some of the fabrication technologies developed for CSACs have been used for other chip-scale atomic sensors, such as magnetometers, wavelength references, and gyroscopes.

September 2008 Meeting Summary

On September 11, 2008, the Southern California Chapter of the ION held a meeting, hosted by NavCom in Torrance, CA. The meeting included a presentation from Dr. Todd Walter of Stanford University entitled The Ionosphere and its Effect on Satellite Navigation. About 50 people were in attendance for the meeting. A short biography and abstract of the meeting follows, and the slides used during the meeting are attached.

Biography of Dr. Todd Walter
Dr. Todd Walter received his B.S. in physics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and his Ph.D. in 1993 from Stanford University. He is currently a senior research engineer in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Stanford University. He is active in the development of the Minimum Operational Performance Standards for WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System) and co-chair of the WAAS Integrity Performance Panel focused on the implementation of WAAS. He has served as program chair and general chair for the ION's NTM and GNSS meetings and is currently the western regional vice president. He was a co-recipient of the 2001 ION early achievement award and is a fellow of the ION.

Abstract of Todd Walter's Talk (Presentation slides)
The ionosphere creates some of the most significant challenges to the use of precise GPS. Its spatial and temporal variations limit the accuracy of position solutions. The uncertainty of its influence limits the availability of high accuracy and high integrity systems. In equatorial areas the ionosphere can cause a form of self-interference, called scintillation, that can prevent the tracking of the signal altogether. Yet, despite these serious obstacles, the ionosphere itself is not well understood. As the use of GPS becomes more demanding and more wide-spread, it is important to examine the ionosphere and understand the range of possible effects.

The FAA has a network of redundant measuring stations throughout North America that has been used to continuously observe ionospheric behavior for the last 8 years. These data have been used to identify the largest gradients observed at middle latitudes.

Our emphasis, in this research, has been on identifying the extreme behavior that, fortunately, occurs rarely over the United States. We have also examined data from other parts of the globe where large variations can be much more common.

A partial solution to the challenges from the ionosphere is under development in the form of modernization of the GPS signals. However, this solution comes at a cost: the combination of signals to create an ionospheric-free measurement greatly inflates the magnitude of other error sources. Users who are particularly affected by the ionosphere will welcome these new signals that will do much to reduce extreme behavior.

This talk will focus on observations of ionospheric effects ranging from typical observed variations to the extreme behavior of ionospheric superstorms. The effects on satellite navigation will be discussed as well as how to place confidence limits on the possible magnitude of its effect.

On June 25, 2008, the Southern California Chapter of the ION held a meeting, hosted by NavCom in Torrance, CA.  The meeting included a presentation from Dr. Chun Yang of NIST entitled Software GPS Receivers: Some Recent Developments and Trends.  A short biography and abstract of the meeting follows, and the slides used during the meeting are attached.

Brief  Resume of Dr. Chun Yang
Dr. Chun Yang has been with Sigtem Technology, Inc., since 1994 where he works on adaptive array and baseband signal processing for GNSS receivers and radar systems as well as on nonlinear state estimation with applications in target tracking, integrated inertial navigation, and information fusion. Dr. Yang is also an adjunct professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Miami University. He is the co-inventor of seven issued and pending U.S. patents. Dr. Yang received his Docteur en Science from Université de Paris-Sud, Orsay, France, in Sciences Physiques in 1989 and his Bachelor of Engineering from Northeastern University, Shenyang, China, in 1984. He is the co-author of an ION-GNSS best presentation paper and an ION AM/IEEE PLANS best track paper, and the co-recipient of ION Samuel M. Burka Award.

Abstract of Talk (Presentation slides)
More and more processing functionalities of a GPS receiver are implemented in software. Given this trend and with more capable and power-efficient processors over the horizon, a natural question to ask at this juncture is how to configure a software baseband processor, not just mimicking hardware-implemented functionalities, to best use of signals available.  This is particularly well-timed at the dawn of multi-constellation GNSS with a diversity of frequencies and codes.  This presentation will start with a brief review and then examine an exemplary state of the art software GPS receiver in detail.  It will focus on two recent developments.  One is a frequency-domain baseband processor that implements satellite signal channel impulse response vs. conventional correlation.  The other is on-line adaptive code replica synthesis, which can be used to suppress multipath and multi-access interference.  The presentation will end with some probing thoughts on standardization.

April 2008 Meeting Summary

On April 23, 2008, the Southern California Chapter of the ION held a meeting, hosted by NavCom in Torrance, CA.  The meeting included a presentation from Dr. Per Enge of Stanford University on the subject of the future GNSS-based Aviation Precision Approach.  A short biography and abstract of the meeting follows.

Capsule Biography of Dr. Per Enge
Per Enge is a professor at Stanford University, where he directs the Center for Position Navigation and Time.  In the distant past, he helped to design solid state Loran transmitters, and he still works on enhanced Loran.  In the not so distant past, he led the development of radio beacons to broadcast differential corrections at medium frequency to marine and land-based users of GPS.  These days, he spends most of his time on the local and wide area augmentation systems.  Per Enge has received the Kepler, Thurlow and Burka Awards from the ION for his work.  He is also a Member of the National Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of the ION and the IEEE.

Abstract of Per Enge’s Talk: Future GNSS Architecture for Aviation (Presentation slides)

By 2020, GNSS will provide precision approach guidance worldwide.  This capability will be born of three important technologies.  First and foremost, avionics will receive two frequencies: L1/E1 and L5/E5b.  This frequency diversity will do much to obviate the impact of ionospheric storms and radio frequency interference. Second, a multiplicity of data broadcasts will be used to convey integrity information from the ground to the airborne users.  These will include the GNSS satellites themselves, geostationary satellites and regional networks of VHF transmitters and airport specific VHF data broadcast (VDB). However, the most important change will be the most subtle.  The fault monitoring burden will be split between the aircraft and the supporting ground systems in a new way.  This new integrity architecture for aviation is the subject of this talk.

March 2008 Meeting Summary

On March 11, 2008, the Southern California Chapter of the ION held a meeting, hosted by Raytheon in El Segundo, CA.  The meeting included a presentation from Frank Boon of Septentrio on the releasable activities of Septentrio.  A short biography and abstract of the meeting follows.

Curriculum Vitae of Frank Boon: 
Currently, Mr. Boon is the Head of Research at Septentrio, responsible for the development and evaluation of novel GNSS technology, technological strategy and team management.  He previously was an R&D Engineer at the Dutch Ministry of Transport, Survey Department at Delft, in the Netherlands, working on high-end GPS/INS systems in Photogrammetry.  He holds an MSc degree from the Delft University of Technology, where he did research on OTF GNSS carrier ambiguity resolution techniques.  He has published extensively in the fields of GNSS systems and applications. 

Abstract of Frank Boon’s Talk: 
Boon will present aspects of the Safety-of-Life service scheduled within the Galileo system.  Emphasis will be given to the SIS data-stream related to the Safety-of-Life service and its relation to the Hazardous and/or Misleading Information Probability Computation Algorithm (HPCA).

A comparison will be made between Galileo's HPCA and the HMI statistics in the WAAS/EGNOS protection level computation as well as standard RAIM.

February 2008 Meeting Summary

On February 9, 2008, the Southern California Chapter of the ION held a meeting, hosted by NavCom in Torrance, CA. The meeting included a presentation from Gaylord Green, Director of the Gravity Probe B program at Stanford. A short biography and abstract of the meeting follows.

Brief Resume of Gaylord Green
Col Gaylord Green (Ret) is a former director of the GPS program and was in the original program office cadre when the program was initiated in charge of the space segment. Additionally, Gaylord directed the guidance shop for the Minuteman/Peacekeeper inertial guidance systems. Since retiring from the Air Force, he is exploring space-time with the world’s most accurate gyroscope in NASA’s Gravity Probe B program.

Abstract of Colonel Gaylord Green’s Talk
Gravity Probe B (GP-B) is a physics mission to experimentally investigate Albert Einstein's 1916 general theory of relativity. GB-B uses four spherical gyroscopes and a telescope, housed in a satellite orbiting 642 km (400 mi) above the Earth, to measure in a new way, and with unprecedented accuracy, two extraordinary effects predicted by the general theory of relativity:

1. The geodetic effect—the amount by which the Earth warps the local space-time in which it resides.

2. The frame-dragging effect—the amount by which the rotating Earth drags its local space-time around with it.

The GP-B experiment tests these two effects by precisely measuring the precession (displacement) angles of the spin axes of the four gyros over the course of a year and comparing these experimental results with predictions from Einstein's theory.

November 2007 Meeting Summary

The Institute of Navigation Southern California Section meeting was hosted by Navcom and held in Torrance on November 15, 2007. At the meeting, new officers were elected to serve as follows:

Chairman: Jerry Knight, NAVCOM Technologies

Vice Chairman: Len Jacobson, GSAM Inc.

Executive Secretary: Cecelia Feit, Raytheon

Treasurer: Ray DiEsposti, General Dynamics

Publicity Officer: Steve Rounds, L-3 Communications/IEC

Program Director: James Litton, Jim Litton Consulting Group

Scholarships and Student Program Chair: Kevin Rudolph, Raytheon

Immediate Past Chairmen and Section Founder: Clyde Edgar

Jerry Knight spoke on behalf of his coauthors, Charles Cahn and Sidharth Nair, presenting the results of their research entitled, "A New Anti-Jamming Method for GNSS Receivers."


Incoming Chairman, Jerry Knight presented a token of appreciation to outgoing chairman Clyde Edgar.

March 2005 Meeting Summary

The Institute of Navigation Southern California Section meeting was hosted by The Aerospace Corporation and held in El Segundo on March 31st. At the start of the meeting the Southern California section chair, Clyde Edgar and California Polytechnic University Advisor, Dr. Ilir Progri presented a ION scholarship award to Lijia Chen, the first Southern California section ION graduate scholarship award recipient as part of the ION student outreach program. Next, our distinguished guest speaker John Lavrakas, ION Western Region Vice president, spoke about the ION, its purpose, membership benefits, and the role it plays in furthering the art and science of navigation. John then followed with a technical presentation on GPS "An Overview of Civil Monitoring". The meeting was well attended and was followed by an spirited question and answer period. Please see the following documents for more information:

The ION and Membership Benefits, John Lavrakas, ION Western Region VP.

An Overview of Civil Monitoring, John Lavrakas, Overlook Systems.

Left to Right: Clyde Edgar, SoCal Chair, Professor Ilir Progri, CPU Student advisor, John Lavrakas, ION Western Regional VP, Line Moisan, Scholarship Chair, Lijia Chen, Graduate scholarship award winner

October 2004 Meeting Summary

The Institute of Navigation Southern California Section October 20 meeting was hosted by Boeing Space Systems and held in the Boeing Seal Beach Complex, Building 86. The meeting was well attended even though freeways were flooded and a large amount of rain was falling. Mr. Frank Czopek, GPS Block II/IIA Satellite Program Manager, presented an historical overview of the GPS satellite program at Seal Beach and showed slides of the manufacturing floor facilities in its heyday.

After his very interesting presentation Frank led a walking tour of the facilities highlighting the immense Thermo-Vac Chambers, Spin table, and Manufacturing room area. He described what the areas were like during the 3 shift GPS SV manufacturing schedule and also discussed a little known incident by eco-terrorists that resulted in actual damage to a space vehicle, the infamous ax incident where a space vehicle was attacked and damaged with an ax.

The tour ended with a viewing of a glass encased chrome plated shovel, the shovel that Werner Von Braun used to dedicate the facility for the Saturn Project in 1966. The property used for manufacture of the Block I, II and IIA satellites is designated to be sold later this year as it is surplus to Boeing's needs. The meeting attendees grouped around the Navstar Monument for a photograph at the end of the meeting. The monument depicts each satellite manufactured in the facilities and when it was launched.

April 2004 Meeting Summary

The Institute of Navigation Southern California Section meeting held on Thursday, April 22 was well attended and hosted by Raytheon in El Segundo. 1Lt. Bryan Titus of the GPS JPO spoke on behalf of Mr. Tom Stansell on "The L1C Stewardship Project", an IGEB sponsored program to actively solicit inputs from interested parties on the implementation of the new GPS L1C signal. The Interagency GPS Executive Board (IGEB) has funded the stewardship project (L1C Project) to determine how best to improve the L1 civil signal on GPS III satellites. The GPS JPO and the USGS in Pasadena are co-sponsors of the project.

A key purpose is to determine what users and companies want in a new signal structure. This is historic, because for the first time the U.S. Government is seeking advice and comment from experts around the world on a proposed new civil signal. 1Lt. Titus requested that the presentation and questionnaire form be made available to the ION website and welcomes questionnaire inputs.

L1C Brief

L1C Questionnaire